Are you curious to find out how to make your garden more vibrant and lively with the right type of outdoor plants? In this article, we’ll compare two popular types of outdoor plants, climbers and bushes, to help you decide which one best suits your garden needs. So let’s dive into their unique characteristics, benefits and purpose, and explore how they can beautify and enrich your outdoor space.
What are Climbing Plants?
Climbers, also known as vines are specific types of plants that grow vertically, attaching themselves to structures like fences, trellises or even trees. The most common examples of climbing plant varieties are ivy, wisteria, star jasmine, five-leaf ivy creeper, clematis, sweet pea, trumpet vine and many others.
Each of these climber plants can beautify your outdoor space by adding texture, height and colour to your otherwise plain walls, fences or pergolas. However, growing plants indoors is different from outdoors as there are different care and maintenance requirements in terms of sunlight, temperature, and humidity.
Indoor plants can thrive from indirect sunlight and may grow in smaller, more confined spaces. Most vertical plants are better suited for outdoor spaces, such as gardens as they need more space to grow, natural sunlight and the right humidity levels to flourish. Vertical plants also grow more rapidly and require proper support and care during their growth phase.
The climbing plant wisteria is an example that can quickly cover your fences or pergolas with its long heavy wines but it needs a sturdy framework, regular pruning and watering to encourage healthy, lush growth. This is essential as vertical plants can become easily tangled and weak without the right maintenance and proper support.
Similarly, climbing plants such as trumpet vine and clematis can grow rapidly and produce beautiful vibrant blooms that can transform even the dullest outdoor spaces. You can position them to grow next to fences, garden walls, or even along the edges of a window frame to create a stunning colourful display and add a pop of colour to your garden. However, without the right care, these plants quickly become unruly, tangled, or weak and may overwhelm the look of your garden.
What are Bushes?
Compared to climbers, bushes or shrubs have short growth. These outdoor plants usually spread their branches outwards rather than upwards and have multiple stems and a bushy appearance. They can reach a maximum height from a few to several metres, depending on the variety. For example, some small bushes like Boxwood or Lavender may reach a height of around one metre while varieties like Hydrangeas or Lilacs can grow several metres tall.
These bushes with their naturally dense foliage and bushy appearance are perfect for creating borders and adding structure, texture, and colour to your garden. Keep in mind, though, they too require proper maintenance, such as watering, pruning and occasional fertilising, to ensure lush and healthy growth. You can use bushes to add fullness to your garden and create stunning privacy corners by planting them along fences, walkways, or near seating areas.
Some types of bushes such as hydrangea, azalea, and camelia also produce a vibrant bloom at certain periods of the year, which can help you add a pop of colour, a nice smell and texture to your outdoor space. Still, not everyone has the same taste as some prefer low-maintenance climbers to shrubs, which is why understanding your garden’s layout and unique preferences plays a crucial role.
The Green Battle: Climbing Plants Vs. Bushes, Which is Best for Your Garden?
Now that we’ve explained the characteristics and most common features of bushes and climbers, the question remains: which one is best for your garden? Choosing between these two types of plants depends on several factors, which include the available space you have in your garden, the level of maintenance you are willing to commit to and the overall look you strive to achieve.
If you want to cover unsightly fences or walls, climbing plants may be the perfect solution. These plants grow vertically and produce lush foliage and vibrant blooms that can easily transform the look of your garden. However, they usually require more support and care during their growth phase, unlike bushes which are more low maintenance.
Bushes, on the other hand, require more ground space but less care once they’re established. They are perfect for homeowners who are looking for a hassle-free, long-term solution to add structure and shelter to their gardens. This only proves that the final result of the green battle between these two beautiful plant varieties depends mostly on your garden’s specific needs and personal preferences.
As the famous British actress Audrey Hepburn said, “To grow a garden is to believe in tomorrow,” which means you can’t expect to see a beautiful garden, without making the right choices to plant the seeds of your future oasis today. Climbers or bushes, it’s up to you and how you want to design your outdoor space authentically and transform it into a peaceful and beautiful sanctuary that calms your mind, nurtures your spirit, and brings you closer to nature.
